Cooled keg holder



March 21, 1950 o. MULLER COOLED KEG HOLDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Novf.8, 1947 Oscar Muller srzverzfoor' Clbbor'rzeg March 21, 1950 o. MULLER2,501,404

COOLED KEG HOLDER 5i 3 Ml Oscak Yfiuller' snverzbcr WQMM March 21, 1950Filed Nov. 8, {Q47 0. MULLER COOLED KEG HOLDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oscarmullet Savarztor b 41.; CLbborrzeg Patented Mar. 21 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE (900L131) KEG HOLDER Oscar Muller, Newark, N. .J.

ApplicationNoyember 8, 1947, Serial No. 784,888 a Claims. (01. 312-135.)

This invention relates to =a cooled drink dispenser, and particularly toa dispensing unit by means of which barrels and similar drink containersmay be readily handled and in whiohthey may be stored and used in thedispensing operation.

In'the conventional method for dispensing cold drinks, such as beer andother carbonated :beverages'the barrels are stored and cooled in thecellar and elaborate means are employed for keeping the beer cooluntilit *reaches the consum'er upstairs atthe bar. The barrels areusually lifted into a cooler located *in the -cellar and "a "duct ofcirculating mid water is maintained around the beertrans'feriineuptothebar.

A purpose of the "present invention is to provide a simple means "forhandling beer barrels at the bar, and for cooling them 'at the locationwhere the beer is dispensed. "Other purposes will 1-beoome apparent-from the drawings and -the desor'iption which is to follow.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows an isometric front-view,*partly "in exposed form, of 'adrink dispenser made according to thepresent invention which may be placed "under the baror'made'a-partthereof. Figure 2 is an isometric partial view thereof,.in open position, showing details of the "telescopic drawout used forhandling the barrels going into OIIOLIt Of the dispensing unit. Figure 3shows the ssamer'inapartially closed position. .A detailed isometricside view of a locking device employed for locking the draw-out in afixed position'is shown in Figure l. A 'cross sectional view showing'separate lunging of the telescopic members is shown in Figure 5.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts in the various figures.

In the drawings, numeral l represents a cabinet of sheet metal, wood, orthe like having a framework of angle irons 2, 3, 6, 1, 8, etc. orsimilar structural units. The unit shown in Figure 1 consists of threesections, two barrel storage sections and a center section fordispensing the drink and also for providing ice cubes, and the like. Theleft barrel storage section or compartment shows an exposed view of thebarrel lifting mechanism.

As stated previously, angle iron members I, 2, 3, and 34 form the framefor the left side of the compartment, 2, 6, I, and 8 the top, 3, d, andI5 the three sides of the bottom, and 5 and I are members forming theframe for the other side of the compartment. The front side is outlinedby angle irons 4, 5, 6, and 34. About 4" to 8" from the floor, in thefront side, is member 9 on which is hinged door 33 by hinges 21 and 22which are attached to angle iron frame member iii of the door. To theback side of door 33 are securely fastened tubular members 23, 34, -25,etc., .which are vertically disposed and are able to swing outwardlywith door 33. These-tubular members are provided with open upper endsinto which fit, in telescopic relation therewith, smaller tubes or-rods725, 2:1, :28 :and 29. In .a modification of the invention, the largertubular members 2-3 may be'hinged by hinges 21F =to the inside1bottom:ed-ge -.'0f :the door opening, thereby allowing door ",33to-beopenedwithout movin tubular members 233, after which platform I3 may betil-ted by loweringldrawa out tubularmembers 26, as shown in Figure15.In such.case, -door.f33 may be-hinged to the "outside edge of. the :dooropening in the cabinet. A stop 3:! is provided to prevent the smallertubes from being drawn out completely from the larger tubes. The smallertubes are connected on thetop :with crossbar 32 which also serves as .ahandle :for withdrawing the smaller tubes Ifrom the larger ones.

"1 0 the inside bottom section of :door '33 are attached angle ironmem'bers M and '32 which exttend down into :the compartment near floor4. Il: e bottom ends-of these members H and 3 2 are joined bycross-piece l8 which isparallehtomemher Extending-from this, andatright-angles thereto, parallel to side member 1 3, are members :13,l9,28,and il which aredoined by cross-piece d4, these latter -membersforming -a platform moving'with door 33 andidropping below*th-e lev e lof member -das-the doorjis closed. Thisplatform is reinforced'by'members 12, '55, I! and lt t-he latter two members being attached(welded) to the upper ends of members H and i2.

It is apparent, therefore, that as door 33 is swung open (outwardly), anextensible platform is provided, and bar 32 may be pulled outwardly asin Figure 2 and allowed to rest on the floor. :A barrel may then berolled on to this platform and turned so that the bottom will rest onthe platform formed by members l3, l9, 2!], and i! when the draw-outplatform is raised and the door closed.

A look may be provided to keep the door in a set position. This mayconsist of a circular quadrant 36 (shown in Figure 4), one side of whichmay be attached to the door 33 or outer tube 23. The circular edge ofquadrant 3B is provided with a number of holes 52 the positions of whichare determined by the desired fixed positions to be set for door 33 orthe extensible platform. On frame member 34 is attached block 35 underwhich rides quadrant 36. Pin 53 fits into a vertical hole in block 35and also in any of the holes 52 in the quadrant. By means of thislocking device, it is possible to lock the door in the position shown inFigure 3 and thus facilitate tapping of keg 31 standing on platform I 3.

It is preferred to line the inner bottom portion of cabinet I withcorrosion resistant sheet metal 39 for a height up to the level ofmember 9 below door 33. This section may then act as a tank for coolingwater 58 which may be circulated around in the tank by pump 49 which maybe installed anywhere inside the cabinet.

The cooling inside the cabinet is accomplished by coils mounted on thewalls and bottom, through which refrigerant is expanded. The water 58,thus cooled, is circulated by pump 49, the intake 50 of which rests onthe bottom of tank 39. The pump outlet line may be led to coil 4!surrounding faucet tank 40, and thence act as discharge 43 at the otherend of the tank.

The keg 31, containing the beer or other beverage, is indicated bydotted lines, and is held fast to platform 13 by cables 69, one on eachside of the keg (only one of which is shown) extending from point E8 ofmember 16 and from member I I. This cable may be provided with a springand a hook on the upper extremity for ready attachment and detachment tochime of the keg. Since platform l3 rests below the surfac of the water,the latter will have a buoyant effect on the keg as it is emptied, andthis is the reason for the anchoring cables.

After the keg 3'! is tapped and connected, beer flows through tapconnection 51 and pipe 56, into faucet cooler and out through faucetconnection 42. The outside of the cabinet is preferably insulated with alayer of cork 38 or other suitable insulating material.

The operation of the unit is eifected in the following manner: After theunit has been connected to the electrical outlets for the pump andrefrigerator compressor, and water is run into tank 39, door 33 isopened and extensible platform 26 is extended by pulling on handle 32,whereupon handle 32 is rested on the floor, as in Figure 2. Thereafter,the full keg 31 is rolled up incline 26 and turned with bottom facingplatform l9. Handle 32 is lifted, causing keg 31 to slide so that itsbottom lies on platform l9. Thereafter, the door is locked in tappingposition as in Figure 3 (by means of the quadrant locking device), andthe keg is tapped. Cables 59 are hooked on to chime 70 of the keg andthe latter is allowed to drop into the water by closing the door aftertelescoping members 26, 28, etc. into 23, etc. After a short coolingperiod, the beer is ready to be dispensed.

In Figure 1, the right compartment may be equipped in a manner similarto the left compartment, thus making provision for two kinds of beer tobe dispensed. In such case, pump 49 may be located in th centercompartment, although the pump inlet may still be situated in thesection shown. As pointed out previously, the center compartment may beequipped to dispense ice cubes and provided with a door accessiblethereto.

The door 33 may also be made separate from extensible platform 23, 28,etc., in which case both the door and platform would be separatelyhinged on cross-member 9.

In the event the kegs must be kept in the cellar or other locationremote from the dispenser, the cabinet may be placed in such remotelocation and the lines insulated to the dispensing location.

I claim:

1. In a beverage dispenser comprising a cooled cabinet for holding atleast one beverage container, at least one raised door frame, a door insaid frame through which the container is introduced, the improvementcomprising tubular members vertically disposed in the doorway and hingedat the bottom behind said door, smaller rod members telescoping into theupper ends of the tubular members and capable of extending out and tothe floor to form an inclined plane for rolling containers thereon, anda cross member connecting the upper ends of said smaller rod members andserving as a handle.

2. A beverage dispenser according to claim 1 in which extensions areattached to the lower ends of at least some of the tubular members, saidextensions reaching to near the inside bottom of REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Matot Aug. 13, 1940 Number

